Our accountancy programme

You don’t need an accountancy degree or an A level in maths to start your journey as an auditor. What’s essential is a genuine passion for working in the public sector and an interest in accountancy.

What the programme offers

By joining our programme, you’ll be able to blend hands-on audit experience with training towards the ACA qualification and the ILM Level 3 leadership award. We’re committed to helping you build expertise and confidence with practical learning and professional support every step of the way. You’ll gain meaningful experience in both financial and performance audit, making a tangible difference to the people of Wales.

Your career as an auditor begins from day one. Alongside your professional training, you’ll work as part of our audit teams, gaining practical experience with clients – whether that’s at their offices, online from home, or from one of our own offices. We look for resourceful and resilient individuals who thrive on variety.

You’ll undertake a range of financial audit tasks, verifying data accuracy and questioning any inconsistencies through frequent interaction with client finance teams and other professionals. Your ICAEW training will be supported by in-house technical sessions, preparing you to handle increasingly complex audits.

Our training programme offers exposure to a diverse range of clients, including Welsh Government and sponsored bodies, health boards, local authorities, and the Fire and Rescue Service. While your main focus will be on financial audits, you’ll also have the chance to contribute to grant certification work, data analytics, and governance projects. Trainees also spend time working in our performance audit teams, and those who demonstrate aptitude may gain further experience in this area as they progress through their ICAEW qualification.

Our ACA Trainee Programmes are a bit different

They offer the unique opportunity for a secondment at another public sector or publicly funded organisation. This not only lets you experience a different organisational culture but also helps you build finance skills alongside your auditing expertise.

To support your development, you’ll be paired with an experienced trainee line manager, who will act as your ICAEW student counsellor, and you’ll also have a buddy to help you settle in and provide guidance as you grow both personally and professionally. You’ll find plenty of encouragement from other trainees, and we actively promote peer support and coaching within our trainee cohorts. After all, nobody understands the journey better than those who are experiencing it alongside you or who have already been through the programme.

Achieving a professional qualification opens up countless opportunities. The ICAEW is prestigious, and the exams are challenging, requiring commitment and discipline. If you’re willing to invest in your development – including putting in extra effort during evenings and weekends to complement the tuition from our training provider – your dedication will bring significant long-term rewards. This could truly be one of the best investments you make in your future.

We offer two pathways to train as an accountant

Graduate

A 4-year graduate trainee programme to those who have a degree. Minimum eligibility for the programme is:

  • A 2:1 class degree in any discipline or a 2:2 where you have additional qualifications such as a masters.
  • 120 UCAS points from three full A levels (A2) or above or equivalent qualifications.
  • GCSE English language level 4/C.
  • GCSE Maths level 5/B.
Apply for our graduate programme

Non-graduate route

A 5-year trainee programme to those without a degree. Minimum eligibility for the programme is:

  • 120 UCAS points from three full A levels (A2) or above or equivalent qualifications.
  • Must not have a degree.
  • GCSE English language level 4/C.
  • GCSE Maths level 5/B.
Apply for our non-graduate programme

Application process

To apply please complete our short application form. We are looking for candidates who not only meet our academic criteria but are showing a clear interest in the programme and the public sector.

In completing you application form ensure that you tell us a little about yourself and the skills and experiences you have and how those will help you in the graduate trainee role. We want to see evidence of your commitment to the public sector and to earning and learning as a trainee accountant.

We are always impressed by people who are enthusiastic about the work of Audit Wales and how they feel they can contribute to it, so we would encourage you to do some research and think about how you picture yourself working with us.

We are also growing a diverse workforce that is representative of the communities we work in and the skills, experiences, and perspectives they offer and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds. Being a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, we guarantee to progress all disabled candidates who meet the essential criteria for the role to psychometric test stage.

Every application is read and reviewed by a human, not by machines or AI. We want to hear your story, in your own words.

If you meet the minimum mark required, you will be progressed to Stage 2, the completion of psychometric tests.

Tip: The application form is your opportunity to sell yourself and set yourself apart from other applicants. Try and ensure to that you understand the role, and the organisation and this is reflected in your application. Ensure that you detail the essential academic requirements as detailed in the job description as failure to demonstrate you meet the minimum academic requirements could result in you being sifted out.

While you may use AI tools to polish the flow of your writing or check grammar and spelling, the competency questions must be answered by you personally. Your responses should reflect your own experiences, insights and motivations. Audit Wales is looking to understand you… not what AI generates. So, make sure your examples and reasoning are authentic and genuinely yours.

You will be asked to complete a couple of psychometric tests. These tests reflect the skills and aptitude we are looking for in the graduate role.

Tip: We recommend you do at least one practice of each test first before completing the tests. This will give you a feel for the types of questions asked and how long they will take you to answer. It’s a great way to prepare, helping you relax and perform to the best of your ability.

Assessment centre

This will involve a number of individual and group exercises where you are assessed against the job description/person specification and the values and behaviours.

Further details regarding the assessment centre will be provided if you are invited to attend.
If you are successful at the assessment centre, you will be invited to stage 4 of the assessment process.

Interview

The final interview is a panel-based interview, with a presentation which will also provide you with the perfect opportunity to ask us any questions about our organisation and the training programme.

Following your attendance at the final interview, we will notify you shortly afterwards to let you know whether you have been successful.

If you are successful, you will receive a conditional offer to join Audit Wales. All offers are subject to pre-employment checks, which include:

  • Security vetting.
  • Verification of academic qualifications listed in your application (you will be required to produce hard copy certificates).
  • Confirmation of your right to work in the UK.
  • Any other relevant checks required for your role.

We value the importance of the Welsh language in our work and aim to provide a bilingual service to everyone who wants to use it.

Our aim is for at least 20% of our graduate trainee cohort to have Welsh language skills. We encourage applications from individuals that have Welsh language skills to help us meet this aim. If you are a Welsh speaker and are keen to use your Welsh language skills in the workplace, we would love to hear from you.

If successful and you do not currently have Welsh language skills, don’t worry. We can support you in learning Welsh if you wish and will also support you to develop basic Welsh language skills to meet our Welsh language commitments.

The following Welsh language skills are desirable for this role.

  • Reading - can read some routine work-related material with support e.g. dictionary.
  • Spoken - can hold some work-related conversations.
  • Understanding - can understand routine work-related conversations.
  • Written - can prepare routine work-related material with checking.

We welcome applications from all candidates who meet the eligibility criteria for our Accountancy Training Programme. However, please note that we are unable to offer visa sponsorship.

To be considered you must already have the right to work in the UK for the full duration of the training scheme.

You must be a UK National, National of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK or Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with (or eligible for) status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS).

We are not able to sponsor work visas. Please email hrandpayroll@audit.wales should you have any questions on your nationality eligibility.

Still have some questions about our programmes? Take a look at our FAQs